Occupational Therapy Assistants in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$55,386
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$14,004
20.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,834
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$69,390
Kept after tax
$55,386
Worth in national money
$58,834
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $69,390, ranking 22 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 148.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $69,390 the take-home is $55,386; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $58,834 would nationally. The average lands at $69,270, below the middle of the range.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for occupational therapy assistants: a median of $69,390, ranking 22 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, occupational therapy assistants sits at 148 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for occupational therapy assistants in North Carolina, on $69,390, is $55,386 — equivalent to $58,834 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $69,270 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Occupational Therapy Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,360 |
| This salary | $69,390 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in North Carolina | $55,386 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,646 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$488 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $66,218 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$673 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of occupational therapy assistants in North Carolina earn under $69,390 and half over. The published range runs $55,130 at the tenth percentile to $83,360 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $55,386 take-home in North Carolina comes from $69,390. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 148 of 489.
- Two cautions on $58,834, the adjusted value of that $69,390 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 148 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapy assistants in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $55,130 to $83,360; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $55,386, from $69,390, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 148 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 50 for it.
- This $58,834 adjusted figure, worked from $69,390, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 148 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 148 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $55,130 at the bottom tenth to $83,360 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $58,834.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $55,386.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($55,130 to $83,360) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $58,834 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $55,386 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.